Shaggy Tucker

This is a portrait of my dog Tucker that I did for my wife's birthday a few months ago. It is the first pet portrait I have ever done. It definitely captures his personality. I feel like it's important not to overwork fur or hair of any kind, so my goal here was to be fresh and spontaneous. He was gracious enough to pose for me when I had a treat but I also had several photos on my monitor as back up. I looked at quite a few masters before figuring out how to treat the background, I think it worked to scumble and wipe an allow the background to show through to create a contrast with the soft texture of the fur (hair for a Labradoodle). I was also careful to not overdo the reflection in his eyes and to make one highlight stronger than the other, apparently that's a trick, and I think this old dog learned it.
I use a limited palette with primarily Gamblin Oil paints on a double oil primed linen canvas on sealed birch 3mm panel. I build my own panels using acid-free archival glue.